The aim of this project is to investigate systematically several approaches to the separation of neural cells, obtain workable procedures for a few selected tissue sources (sympathetic and spinal sensory ganglia, spinal cord) and establish some general principles and methodology to adapt and extend such procedure to other neural tissues. In particular, we intend to: (1) determine dissociation procedures with reproducible outputs defined in terms of cell yields and viability in culture, (2) use explant cultures to examine the culture behavior of all constituent cell types for cell identification purposes, test maintenance or growth quality of different media, and assay for cell-specific immunocytotoxicity of antisera, (3) manipulate differential cell migration from explant cultures, differential cell attachment from neural dissociates, differential survival and/or growth in culture as possible major approaches to neural cell separation, (4) study conditions that control or promote growth of glial cells, with particular attention to neuron-derived materials, and (5) investigate the use of affinity isolation techniques for the fractionation of neural cell suspensions, by exploiting cell-characteristic surface constituents such as binding sites (for hormones, factors, neurotransmitters or lectins) and immunoreactive sites (for existing, or newly developed, immune sera).